Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 531: Pursuing Profits
Liu Pang couldn't help sweating on his back and quickly thanked Pei Yuan, "Thanks to my brother for reminding me, otherwise I would have delayed Minister Mao's mission."

After saying it, I felt something was wrong.

Doesn't this mean that Mao Ji would ignore the situation and seize power at the last minute?

This is really heartbreaking.

But Liu Pang had nothing much to say. With Mao Ji's current position, he still had a chance to move forward.

If Mao Ji had gotten the title of Shangshu before going to the funeral, he would have been able to start directly from the rank of the Seven Great Ministers after his return.

Moreover, during the three-year mourning period, the length of seniority is also calculated according to that of a Shangshu.

When you have the opportunity to join the cabinet in the future and seniority is required, you will have three years more seniority than others.

Liu Pang felt that it was not appropriate to discuss other people's inner secrets, so he said, "Let's not talk about Minister Mao's affairs, what should I do?"

Pei Yuan reminded him at the right time, "As the ancients said, if a fragrant orchid grows outside a door, it must be weeded out. Even if Brother Liu's behavior is impeccable, it is difficult to guarantee complete safety. Brother Liu, why don't you make arrangements early and avoid the spot at the center of the storm first?"

"Otherwise, if Minister Wang loves talents and strongly recommends you to take a high position in the local government, what should we do?"

"Now that the matter has not been made clear, there is still room for calmness. If Brother Liu had made plans earlier, Minister Mao would not have been resentful."

"This..." Liu Pang hesitated suddenly.

With his qualifications and position, as long as he works within the official system in Beijing, he has a good chance of becoming a Shangshu step by step.

If you go to a local place and start as a prefect, if you don't have a great opportunity, you will be assessed every three years and promoted every nine years. If you want to become a minister step by step, it will take another 36 years...

Pei Yuan drank his tea slowly, waiting for him to figure it out.

Liu Pang sat for a while with a heavy heart, then stood up and said goodbye.

Seeing Liu Pang like this, Pei Yuan estimated that Li Shishi's chances of success would be much greater.

He called Chen Xinjian and told him, "Your Majesty issued several imperial edicts for me yesterday. Although this matter was handled by Eunuch Yin Sheng, as long as the imperial edicts are stamped, Lu Ting should know that I have entered the capital."

"I will take Cen Meng to look for Zang Xian later. You stay in Zhihua Temple first. If Eunuch Lu sends someone over, please help me greet him."

Chen Xinjian understood and said, "I understand."

Greeting and responding is secondary. The main thing is to try to understand Lu Ting's attitude from the visitor's words and deeds.

Others may not be able to handle this kind of thing properly.

Pei Yuan asked people to inquire at several music bureaus and found out where Zang Xian was, and then sent a visiting card.

When Zang Xian heard that Pei Yuan was coming to visit, he thought of this little brother he had met before and was very happy to ask people to make preparations.

When Pei Yuan arrived, it was noon.

Zang Xian invited Pei Yuan to a banquet, and asked a beautiful woman who had been trained to sing and dance in front of him to help the two of them talk.

Perhaps it was because they hadn't seen each other for some time, and the two sides slowly got along well with each other through chatting.

When the wine was half drunk, Zang Xian waved his hand to let the women leave, then said to Pei Yuan with a smile, "Brother Xian and I have never had much friendship, so I'm sure you came to see me this time because you need my help."

Pei Yuan heard this and said, "That's true. There is a deal that no one except Brother Zang can accomplish."

When Zang Xian heard about the business, he immediately became interested. He smiled and asked, "Is it the cargo trafficking thing you mentioned last time?"

Pei Yuan shook his head and lowered his voice, "It's for other things. I'm just helping someone."

Zang Xian's heart moved slightly, and he said to Pei Yuan with a confident smile, "Don't worry, no matter whose business it is, as long as I can do it, I will never ask where it came from."

Pei Yuan had already registered Luo Jiao's case with Zhu Houzhao, so he was not afraid of anything being exposed.

So he said, "Someone gave me a business deal, but unfortunately I don't have the connections, so I can't handle it myself. If Brother Zang is willing to help make this deal, I am willing to share the profits with you equally."

Zang Xian couldn't help but frown slightly when he heard Pei Yuan's complicated words.

It’s not that I’m afraid there’s some unavoidable cause and effect here, but I’m mainly afraid of trouble.

Zang Xian smiled and emphasized, "Brother, I just said that I never care about those things when I do things for you. Just keep it simple."

Pei Yuan didn't believe Zang Xian's lies.

For these unscrupulous brokers, as long as the price is right, even the people who come to them for work will become commodities for their transactions.

Pei Yuan had no choice but to pretend to be helpless and said, "I was entrusted by someone, there is nothing I can do about it."

Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him, Zang Xian smiled and asked Pei Yuan to continue.

Pei Yuan then continued, "I wonder if Brother Zang has noticed some recent news in the south?"

Zang Xian gestured to Pei Yuan, "For example?"

Pei Yuan said, "For example, the price of soybean oil in the south has risen sharply recently. Compared with before, the price has almost doubled."

When Zang Xian heard this, he first showed a look of realization, then smiled and said, "It's not twice as fast, but more than twice as fast."

Pei Yuan heard Zang Xian say it so lightly, and his mind was racing with thoughts.

As soon as he brought up the topic, Zang Xian started talking. It was obvious that someone had noticed this and was trying to take advantage of this powerful guy Zang Xian.

Zang Xian seemed to have seen through Pei Yuan's thoughts and said with a smile, "You don't have to think too much. This matter is of great importance. Many people have noticed it."

"It's just that many people think that the transactions here will be very troublesome, so they are just testing the waters."

Pei Yuan didn't dare to believe Zang Xian's words, and continued to be evasive, "It's a coincidence. The owner of the oil press contacted me a few days ago. He has a lot of oil in his hands, but unfortunately he has no way to sell it to the south, so he can only watch it and not make any money."

“They have come up with some solutions, but none of them are ideal.”

"Of course, Brother Zang must understand these things better, so I won't elaborate on them."

Zang Xian listened quietly without interrupting, waiting for Pei Yuan to finish his half-truthful and ambiguous speech, and then he said directly, "In other words, you already know the identity of the oil seller, right?"

Pei Yuan was about to say yes.

Zang Xian smiled and said casually, "Luo Jiao?"

Although Pei Yuan's expression remained unchanged, his heart was beating wildly.

He pretended to be confused and asked, "Oh? What Luo Sect?"

Zang Xian still smiled and said, "Those people have monopolized the soybeans in Shandong. How can they hide such a large sum of money?"

"If the southern nobles hadn't discovered that the mastermind behind this might be the Luo Cult, the oil press workshop in Huai'an would have been razed to the ground by them long ago."

"The people of Luo Cult are somewhat different from the people in the government. Those people... are not very reasonable." "Everyone still hopes to solve the problem in an amicable manner."

Pei Yuan remained calm upon hearing this.

This is also the reason why he took such a big risk and went to Zhu Houzhao to whitewash Luojiao.

Because the Luo Sect is so large, it is easy to be discovered.

It would be fine if they simply wanted to hide leaders like Chen Toutie and secretly control the Luo Sect.

But once the Luo Sect starts moving, the earth-shaking movement and the huge flow of manpower and material resources will inevitably expose them somewhere.

Pei Yuan relied on the Luo Sect to monopolize Shandong's soybeans, but these benefits must be realized eventually. So next, those who are interested only need to keep a close eye on the soybeans and the flow of money generated, and they will be able to find out the hidden core of the Luo Sect.

Pei Yuan did not deny it, and said calmly, "Brother Zang should also know that my job often requires me to deal with those evil cults and monsters. Sometimes, the relationships are a bit complicated..."

Zang Xian waved his hand, signaling Pei Yuan not to continue.

He said with a smile, "Don't worry, these things have nothing to do with me. The Maitreya Sect is so rampant in the south, shouldn't I have contact with it? Besides, I just said that I never care about those things when I do things for you, just tell me the truth."

Pei Yuan heard this and said with a little embarrassment, "If I had known that Brother Zang was so generous, I should have asked the people over there to talk to Brother Zang in person."

Zang Xian didn't waste any words and confirmed, "The people from the Luo Sect want to sell the soybean oil to the south through me?"

Pei Yuan said simply, "Yes."

Zang Xian tapped his fingers on the table and said slowly, "According to what I learned before, those people in the south don't want soybean oil, they only want soybeans. I heard that people over there are willing to pay an extra 10% for it."

"Also, let me make one thing clear. Just selling beans should be enough for Luo Jiao to make money. There's no need to make things so awkward."

Pei Yuan shook his head and said, "Brother Zang should also understand that the biggest way to make money from soybean transportation to the south is to extract oil."

"The profit from oil pressing is huge. The soybean oil extracted can cover the cost and even bring in extra profit."

"But the oil produced by oil pressing is not only oil, but also a large amount of soybean material left over from the pressing. The amount of soybean material is huge, and even if it is made into bean cakes and sold, it is almost a waste of money. Such a huge profit is not something that Luo Jiao can easily give up."

Zang Xian nodded and smiled, "What you said makes some sense, and it's a good thing that they can't reach an agreement."

Seeing Pei Yuan looking over, Zang Xian smiled and pointed at each other, saying meaningfully, "If everyone does business in harmony, what will we brothers earn?"

Pei Yuan laughed and asked Zang Xian, "Does Brother Zang have any connections?"

Zang Xian did not answer, but asked first, "How much goods are there?"

Pei Yuan replied, "I'm not too sure, but I think we've probably squeezed more than 100,000 shi of beans."

When Zang Xian heard this number, greed grew in his eyes, and he asked again, "How much can I get?"

Pei Yuan was not vague and promised directly, "As long as the soybean oil and the soybean materials left over from oil extraction can be shipped, we will each get 20% of the profit based on the price."

Zang Xian calculated silently and said with a smile, "The people of Luo Sect are quite open-minded. Okay, the 20% profit is worth it for me to do this."

Zang Xian finished speaking and added, "I only help them connect. How they do it specifically has nothing to do with me."

Pei Yuan said quickly, "Brother Zang, don't worry. As long as you help take the lead, I'll let others do the rest. I didn't take the money for nothing."

The two of them reached an agreement on the matter. Perhaps because there was a large sum of money to be received, Zang Xian's mood became very good.

He also asked people to call for singers and dancers to entertain the two men.

During this period, Zang Xian also picked some newly trained girls for Pei Yuan to choose from.

Pei Yuan was only thinking about bearing fruit as soon as possible, so he didn't have the energy to mess around outside.

After they finished drinking, Zang Xian said to Pei Yuan, "Someone asked me for directions on that matter before. I will be able to get back to you in three to five days."

Pei Yuan reminded, "This matter is of great importance, I hope Brother Zang will keep this secret."

Zang Xian smiled but did not answer, his face full of disdain for this remark.

After saying goodbye to Zang Xian, Pei Yuan began to secretly rejoice.

Fortunately, he did not rely on luck and continue to conceal the matter of Luo Jiao, but instead kept the matter on record in front of Zhu Houzhao.

Otherwise, as long as Pei Yuan tried to use Luojiao to make a profit, the source would definitely be found.

However, after Luo Jiao secretly whitewashed himself, it became difficult to find someone to take the blame for many of the crimes.

Do we still have to rely on the senior White Lotus Sect members?
Pei Yuan thought about it and couldn't calculate the pros and cons of this matter for a moment.

When we arrived at Zhihua Temple, as soon as we got to the gate, the Jinyiwei guarding the gate reminded us, "Captain, the eunuch Lu, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, is here. General Chen is entertaining him inside."

Pei Yuan was a little surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect Lu Ting to come here by himself.

Pei Yuan quickly left his entourage behind and walked quickly towards the cross-courtyard where he worked.

After entering the east wing, Pei Yuan glanced around and saw Lu Ting, wearing a dragon robe, sitting under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, drinking tea leisurely.

Pei Yuan smiled, took a few steps forward, and said to Lu Ting, "I was just about to visit Eunuch Lu, but I didn't expect that Eunuch Lu would come here in person."

Lu Ting stood up with a half-smile on his face and took out a few rolls of yellow silk from his sleeves. "I was afraid that you would forget about me, so I came here to congratulate you."

When Pei Yuan saw Lu Ting's expression, his mind flashed, and he immediately realized that Lu Ting must have understood his fears, so he took the initiative to come and express his feelings.

This Lu Ting is indeed trustworthy.

Pei Yuan felt relieved and joked, "Eunuch Lu is now a dignified internal minister, so I have to be more sensible."

Lu Ting sighed and said, "There's no need to be like this. I've only gotten to where I am today thanks to your support. Now is the time to share the wealth and honor together. Why should we become estranged?"

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face again. "Besides, is there anything in this world that can stump you? When you are doing something, you can think of me, which is a great honor for me."

Pei Yuan smiled and did not argue.

Neither of them is a person who believes in words, and they need a more powerful test to verify their covenant with each other.

Pei Yuan and Lu Ting sat down together. Pei Yuan reached out and picked up an imperial edict, which asked Guo Hui, the commander of Xuzhou Guard, to cooperate with Pei Yuan in reorganizing the soldiers. The imperial seal was already stamped on it.

He picked up another imperial edict, which appointed Chen Toutie as the deputy commander of Shandong and the commander of Jining Guard.

There was another copy. Pei Yuan picked it up and took a look at it, then his heart started beating wildly.

It was the document that Zhu Houzhao had granted Pei Yuan and Han Qianhu with marriage. Pei Yuan looked at the completely unfamiliar official name on it and asked Lu Ting in disbelief, "This one?"

Lu Ting nodded, "Your Majesty finally nodded. Congratulations, my dear brother. You finally got the beauty."

(End of this chapter)